Biochips are one technology currently under study to improve disease diagnosis. Biochips are defined as devices on which biomolecules such as DNA, proteins, sugar chains and cells containing these biomolecules are fixed in a large number, termed DNA, protein, glycochips and cell chips, respectively. Target molecules and compounds may interact with biomolecules on these chips that when analyzed may detect a disease state. However, the current state of the art biochips have many drawbacks. For example, diagnosis including screening and monitoring in the early phase after onset is difficult with current health check-up sensitivity and specificity. There is still a need to detect diseases such as cancers, lifestyle-related diseases such as hypertension and diabetes, and infectious diseases including influenza, rapidly, simply and accurately at a low cost using one drop of blood or test sample. Furthermore some biochips lack the ability to utilize other patient samples other than blood, for example other bodily fluids such as urine, saliva, spinal fluid, and the like. Also, some biochips are manufactured with glass that causes problems due to etching of the glass, cost of manufacturing, and extreme limitation of biochip construction. Use of other materials such as polymer based materials has failed due to the hydrophobic nature of the polymer material and its tendency for reducing the flow of any fluid.
The American Cancer Society stated that a total of 1,685,210 new cancer cases and 595,690 deaths from cancer are projected to occur in the United States in 2016. Cancer remains the second most common cause of death in the United States, accounting for nearly 1 of every 4 deaths. Most of the cancers are curable if they can be identified at earlier stages.
Ovarian cancer ranks as the fifth most common cancer in women and has the highest mortality rate among gynecologic malignancies. The early detection of cancers can enhance preventive measures, increase curability of the disease, reduces health care costs, and improves the quality of life for patients.
To achieve early detection of specific cancer types, highly sensitive and specific sets of biomarkers may be required. These cancer specific and early stage sensitive biomarkers can be substances that are expressed on cancer cells or created by the body's immune system in response to cancer cells. These types of biomarkers can be found in tissue, blood, or urine, and the detection of these specific cancer biomarkers in higher-than-normal amounts in the body may signify the presence of cancer.
Accordingly, an interest exists for improved diagnostic assemblies, and related methods of use. These and other inefficiencies need to be addressed and overcome as current assemblies, systems, and methods have many drawbacks as described above.
Thus, although biochip technology holds great potential for use in health monitoring systems around the world, and in particular in remote areas, there remain significant areas for improvement in the performance and ease of use of such technology. Complex disease diagnostics such as cancer diagnostics is still a nascent area of research that has not been completely explored by biochip researchers. Further improvement through study and development in this area is highly desirable.